An Ultrasensitive Calcium Reporter System via CRISPR-Cas9-Mediated Genome Editing in Human Pluripotent Stem Cells

Summary: Genetically encoded calcium indicator (GCaMP) proteins have been reported for imaging cardiac cell activity based on intracellular calcium transients. To bring human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) to the clinic, it is critical to evaluate the functionality of CMs....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yuqian Jiang, Yuxiao Zhou, Xiaoping Bao, Chuanxin Chen, Lauren N. Randolph, Jing Du, Xiaojun Lance Lian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-11-01
Series:iScience
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004218301664
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Summary:Summary: Genetically encoded calcium indicator (GCaMP) proteins have been reported for imaging cardiac cell activity based on intracellular calcium transients. To bring human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes (CMs) to the clinic, it is critical to evaluate the functionality of CMs. Here, we show that GCaMP6s-expressing hPSCs can be generated and used for CM characterization. By leveraging CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing tools, we generated a knockin cell line that constitutively expresses GCaMP6s, an ultrasensitive calcium sensor protein. We further showed that this clone maintained pluripotency and cardiac differentiation potential. These knockin hPSC-derived CMs exhibited sensitive fluorescence fluctuation with spontaneous contraction. We then compared the fluorescence signal with mechanical contraction signal. The knockin hPSC-derived CMs also showed sensitive response to isoprenaline treatment in a concentration-dependent manner. Therefore, the GCaMP6s knockin hPSC line provides a non-invasive, sensitive, and economic approach to characterize the functionality of hPSC-derived CMs. : Cell Engineering; Optical Imaging; Specialized Functions of Cells Subject Areas: Cell Engineering, Optical Imaging, Specialized Functions of Cells
ISSN:2589-0042